Friday Feast - 9/29/06

Appetizer
What is your favorite herb or spice?

Hmmm, I love garlic powder, but I also love an Italian seasoning called Spatini. I can't find it in the south, so I have to bring it back with me when I travel up to PA. It's supposed to be used to make spaghetti sauce, but we fill a salt shaker with it and sprinkle it on everything. Mmmmmmm.

Soup
Name a song you like but haven't heard in a long time.

Kermit the Frog singing, The Rainbow Connection.

Salad
If you were to take just one minute to write down as many things as you can think of that you need (not want) to do, approximately how many things would there be?

If it was detailed and had no time limit, it would be endless. Trust me, as a good list maker, there would be a lot of stuff on this list if I didn't narrow it down to "things I need to do - today". Things I need to do for the rest of my life would take a while to write down. If limited to writing things down within a minute's time, I would only be limited to speed that I could write them down.

In other words, I have a lot of crap to do.

Main Course
Tell something interesting about one of your family members (nothing scandalous, please, just something unique).

I have a (deceased) uncle who was involved in the training of the first monkeys that were flown into space years ago.

Dessert
What's the latest you've ever stayed awake?

It was probably the first time my husband and I ever went to Las Vegas. It was only for the weekend, and on our last night there, we decided we would rather go out instead of going to bed. I'm not sure what time our flight was the next morning, but I know I slept after an all-nighter in Vegas!

What Were We Doing In a Car Together?

I had a dream several nights ago that I was in a car with George Harrison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. I think there may have been someone else in the car too, but I can't remember for sure.

My husband pointed out the fact that this group, in my dream, was actually a large portion of The Traveling Wilbury's band. I don't know if I remembered that fact subconsciously or not, but at the time I was describing the dream, I had not made that connection.

It was a black car. George Harrison was driving (and he was apparently alive again). I was sitting in the back seat next to Bob Dylan. Tom Petty was up front with George. I'm not sure where we were going, but the dream suddenly transitioned into me driving my old Buick station wagon (from the mid-90's) down a dark, country road--and then my headlights went out.

I don't know what it all means, but I blame the glass of raspberry wine I drank before bed.

Warning! Don't Do This!

At work yesterday, several of the employees were pondering over something. One of them came over to me to see if I could contribute my opinion to the issue. The warning pictured above, was prominently printed on a plastic bag which contained a stuffed toy representing one of the characters featured on our shows. Take a good look at it.

At first glance, we thought it might be some sort of suffocation warning, but the longer we looked at it, the more puzzled we became. Then finally, the more amused we became.

It looks like it could be a child, but then again, one of the feet looks like some sort of farming tool or ice pick. If it is a baby or child, what exactly is going on with the top half of this child? Is someone frying a sunny-side up egg on the child's head? Is that a head? Maybe the thing is actually half penguin and half child. Is something coming out of the beak and if so, what? Is it a duck wearing a shriner's hat? Maybe it is half alien, half baby?

We were discussing the possibility of making t-shirts and bumper stickers and maybe even putting the symbol on picket signs and holding a protest. Whatever it is, we are SO against it. We think.

What do you think it is?

Friday Feast - September 22, 2006

Appetizer

Measured in minutes or hours, how much exercise have you had in the last week?

Between dog walking, and hitting the elliptical a few minutes over lunch this past week--maybe an hour and a half?

Soup

If you had to change your blog title to something else, what would it be?

Stuff I Feel Like Writing About

Salad

Name one television show you watched when you were 9-12 years old.

The Brady Bunch. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!!

Main Course

If someone gave you $50 to spend with the one condition that it had to be educational, what would you purchase?

I might sign up for a self-defense class. How much does it cost to learn how to kick some a**?

Dessert

Do you tend to prefer dark colors, neutral shades, or lighter/pastel hues?

I like dark and bold colors. I wear a lot of black. But I also just bought a pair of bright red Converse sneakers. I have a pair of black and pink Nike Shox too. My ski jacket is bright red. Red, black, pink and gray are probably my favorite colors.

Funny Words

Below is a list of funny words sent to me by a co-worker. I think my favorite is "spork".

List of Funny Words:

Banana
Bowling Ball
Broccoli
Chia-pet
Chicken
Corn
Cow
Crusty
Dastardly
Emu
Eskimo
Fluffy
Frugal
Frumpy
Goat
Goulash
Grunion
Hardy
Jell-O mold
Loaf
Monkey + (anything)
Mutant
Pants
Prune
Smörgåsbord
Sock puppet
Sparkle
Spiffy
Spork
Strudel
Waffle iron
Weasel

Who Needs a Calendar?

Even though the calendar says that the first day of autumn is September 23rd this year, I truly believe that today is the first day of fall. I believe this for three reasons:

1 - Last night, we turned the heat on for the first time

2 - I noticed my first glimpse of orange coloring on one of the trees on my way to work today

3 - I wore non-sandals to work for the first time since spring

As they say in the south...Happy Fall Y'all.

Exploring and Living in Franklin, Tennessee

This weekend, my sister and my brother-in-law came to visit me and my husband in our current hometown of Franklin, Tennessee. My brother-in-law enjoys history. So we decided to plan a few tours and excursions that would be interesting to him.

We spent the whole weekend in Franklin and I realized that not only is this a really cool town, but I am actually starting to find the history surrounding this area pretty interesting.

Most of the area history involves the Civil War battle, The Battle of Franklin. This was a pretty intense battle during the Civil War. There were over 7,000 casualties of war in one night during this battle.

The Carnton Plantation has an eerie feel to it. So much blood was spilled on those grounds. So much sadness, death and pain. Blood still stains the floors of almost all of the rooms. Also, there's this strange allure of the strong, mysterious Carrie McGavock who lived there. It's no wonder that The Widow of the South has become such a popular book. During the Franklin On Foot walking tour, we encountered a group of women from a book club in St. Louis who traveled to Franklin just to tour and discuss these sights because they read The Widow of the South. Walking through the cemetery is a sobering experience when you start to think that every stone represents a person--someone's son, husband, brother or father--and the stones just go on and on, row after row after row.

Standing at the site of The Carter House, you can almost imagine yourself going back in time. The bullet holes are still so prominent in the walls of the buildings. Again, stories of death, suffering and human limbs piled at least 7 feet high outside of a Carter House window. The Carter House is described as "ground zero" for the Battle of Franklin. The majority of the battle took place right at that spot. Driving home, it felt so strange to think about the fact that our house stands in a development that is just a few short minutes away from that spot. I have no doubts that after all I've learned this weekend, that Civil War soldiers either walked through or camped on our property at one time.

Amidst all of the history, we dined at one of Franklin's newest and coolest restaurants, The Red Pony. It is a very cool, trendy restaurant located in one of the historic downtown buildings on Main Street. The food and drinks were excellent. We loved the atmosphere immediately. We even saw a local celebrity dining at the next table.

I always knew that I liked Franklin. We obviously never would have purchased a house here if we didn't. But now, I am starting to connect with it on a whole new level. Before the weekend ended we purchased a Civil War book and The Widow of the South. We also plan to take a "ghost tour" of the Carnton Plantation next month.

I feel like I owe something to this town since it finally stired up my interest in history after all of these years. I love that I live here. I love that I work here. If you've never been to Franklin, Tennessee and if you are visiting the Nashville area, you may want to consider a visit. I don't think you will regret it.

If You're Happy and You Know It...

I have a "5 Things to Be Happy About" tear off calendar.

I know...it's a little odd. But sometimes, the bulleted items that are listed bring me a small sliver of entertainment. I sometimes think, "Why would anyone be happy about that?" or "What on earth IS that?"

In any case, I tore off the page this morning, I looked at yesterday's list of 5 Happy Things and realized that I must not have read them. Here they are--the items from yesterday, Tuesday, September 12th:

• a cat tearing through a room
• Captain Underpants books
• spiderwebs flecked with dew (I might argue with this one)
• the original Star Wars trilogy
• cereal bouncing into bowls

I read the above list and thought about the 4th one. Is it possible that when this 2006 calendar went to print sometime last year, that they actually knew that the original Star Wars trilogy was going to be released on DVD for the first time on this particular date? (Yes, the original trilogy, as it looked in the 70s and 80s, before the later-added special effects has been released. And yes, we bought it. We've given more money to George Lucas over the years than anyone else I know...)

I somehow doubt that the release date was even announced last year when they would have gone to press on this thing. I just think it is a really weird coincidence. I thought it was odd and I just had to share it with you.

And I also wondered if anyone else thought that "cereal bouncing" might be a little bit of a stretch for a happy moment. Just wondering...

Why?

Why does it seem just as painful -- even 5 years later?

Dorney Park - Labor Day Weekend - Part Three

Dorney Park used to be a cute, little, family attraction at one time. It has an incredible history which dates back to 1860. (Check out the history here). We visited Dorney on the last day of our Labor Day trip up to PA.

Growing up near Allentown, Dorney Park has always been a part of my life. My Dad, who is in his 70's used to work there as a teen. My Mom rode her first (and only) roller coaster there. I enjoyed the park as a child, as a teenager and as an adult. My husband and I spent most of the first summer that we were dating at this park and we've been visiting there ever since.

As a child, I remember that we used to have to redeem tickets to ride the rides. I still have one of those ticket books...

Back then, there was only one roller coaster. A local road (Dorney Park Road) cut through the park. You saw your friends and neighbors there. Alfundo the clown (pictured above) was the park mascot and he was represented throughout the park. The park was a small, local attraction with charm. Here is a glimpse at some of the older rides.

Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom is now a large, modern-day amusement park with several coasters including the 75 mph Steel Force coaster. Dorney is now owned by Cedar Fair, LP and has grown in size and acquired thrill rides that compete with theme parks across the country. It is now a completely different park and Alfundo's presence has not been seen there for years. However, I have enjoyed watching Dorney grow into what it has become today.

We spent the day enjoying the thrill rides and reminiscing about the good old days. Finally, as we were getting ready to leave the park, we visited the gift shop to see if there was a souvenir we would want to take with us.

We looked at the selection of t-shirts and we saw something that completely blew us away. Hanging in the selection of brightly colored t-shirts was a white t-shirt with something on it that made us do a double-take--it was ALFUNDO THE CLOWN!

That's right, the original Alfundo from years ago was on a modern day t-shirt!

We immediately began digging through the selection to see if there was one for each of us. Unfortunately, they didn't have one in my husband's size, so we decided to ask the girl at the register if she could help us find one. The girl was about 16 years old. She said she didn't have any in the back, but she would be happy to call around to see if one of the other shops had one.

We listened as she placed the call and said, "Yes, I'm calling to see if you carry that white t-shirt with a red collar--it has some kind of clown on it...". This girl, a current employee of Dorney Park, had no idea who Alfundo was. To top it off, when she hung up after her unsuccessful search for the shirt she said, "Yeah, I think people really like the red collar, these are so popular..."

Suddenly, I heard myself saying, "That's Alfundo the Clown! He was all over this park when we were in high school...blah, blah, blah..." I went into great detail on Alfundo the Clown and I think at least 10 gray hairs sprouted out of my head at that very moment.

Oh well...at least I got the t-shirt.

My Old Stomping Grounds - Part Two

More stories and photos from Labor Day weekend....

We celebrated my Mom's birthday--blow out those candles, Ma!

Saturday night, we were craving hoagies. We decided to make a stop at our favorite convenience store (WaWa) to satisfy our hoagie cravings. I miss WaWa and I wish they had them in the south. Is it silly to miss a convenience store?

Seriously, our trip was not ALL about food, but we did have to stop at Yocco's. They have the best hot dogs in the world. If you are ever in the Lehigh Valley, you have to make the trip. You won't be sorry.

On our last day in PA, we made a trip to Dorney Park...but that will need to be a separate blog. More to come!

My Old Stomping Grounds - Part One

I had the pleasure of visiting my hometown over Labor Day weekend. First, we landed at the Philadelphia airport and ate an authentic cheesesteak at Pat's King of Steaks in Philly. This is the original authentic philly cheesesteak.

Yo, you guys want yours "wit or witout" fried onions?

Then, we drove to the Allentown area where we stayed to visit with my family. This is the Trivet diner--one of our favorites. There aren't many authentic diners in the south, so it is funny that seeing one now can make us nostalgic. Nothing like a place that is open 24 hours, where you can order breakfast any time of day and order everything from a club sandwich to a steak dinner.

We visited with my Mom and Dad. Aren't they cute? They've been married over 50 years.

Then we ventured out to the 154th year of The Great Allentown Fair. This is an old hometown tradition and a huge fair with lots of attractions. We visited our favorite stands and attractions like The Brass Rail Restaurant stand...

....and the Ritz Barbecue....

and Vince's Cheesesteaks.

There were even prize winning eggs! (I don't think I would know a prize winning egg if I saw one in the grocery store, would you?)

More hometown adventures to come...